Fearless
by Alley Cat Sunflower
Summary: The Man in the Moon has been keeping one potential Guardian far away from all the others for millennia… but he can't keep her hidden forever. Meet Amaranth, otherwise known as the archer of the heart. OC, but not self-insert. Second genre may change. T for reasons. I do not own Rise of the Guardians! Thanks to DollDivine for the cover. *SUSPENDED.*
1. Prologue

If the Man in the Moon knew one thing, he knew that making _this_ one a Guardian would lead to trouble.

He'd kept Amaranth hidden for millennia, knowing that her form would be transient to others if he let them see her. He himself was the only one who would know her true appearance: a flirtatious girl not quite sixteen, plucked from the world by jealousy long, long ago on her wedding night, with dark flashing eyes and long wavy hair no lighter. But everyone else would see someone different, if he allowed her to become a Guardian.

The Moon watched as Amaranth learned to live unseen. He encouraged her wordlessly to take up the bow of her killer, inlaid with gold filigree, and quiver of arrows—and never to give them back. And he taught her that her arrows would not pierce the skin, but instead strike the love she had never given deep into the heart. He silently guided her through the ages, and she quickly learnt that she must not bring herself into prominence, but eventually she began to question why.

After centuries of firing paired arrows into the hearts of soulmates, Amaranth thought that smaller ammunition might let her create more temporary alliances. Gleefully, she took up matching darts as well, and to her delight discovered that she had been correct: Amaranth had discovered how to influence the relationships of those she could not see. She could make and destroy marriages in months if she so wished. And she so wished.

The Moon disapproved, but could do nothing to curb Amaranth's mischief. Several more centuries caused her to wonder about what might affect younger, more innocent children, who threw off the aim of her darts and postponed the effects of her arrows: it occurred to her that blunter ammunition might accomplish the same result, and the Moon wished she would have been disappointed. Instead, she happily discovered that though stones' consequences were much more temporary and weaker to begin with, they functioned much the same.

He realized then that Amaranth was gradually assembling an arsenal to affect all ages: if she wasn't careful, she could cause chaos. Arrows and darts to affect the adults were fine, but she _had_ to stay away from the children. If she didn't, the Guardians would see her, and the Moon knew that they would not see _her_.

Amaranth's appearance would shift into whatever they thought attractive. She could accidentally tear the world apart with competition and jealousy if she was spotted by anyone, Guardian or otherwise.

And one snowy night, she was seen.

**((Okay, let me straighten out a few things before I continue.**

**1. This story's main focus will probably not be romance, oddly enough.**

**2. Not all relationships will receive closure and/or be permanent.**

**3. I will probably update this very sporadically, so be prepared for random hiatuses.**

**I hope you like it!))**


	2. Chapter 1

Amaranth grinned to herself as she lightly plucked a stone from her belt, peeking mischievously through the window of a young and pretty girl. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day, and she had a _lot_ of work to do before sunrise; her job would be much more easily done if she didn't have to be so sneaky. She must rely on sandlight in the evenings to bring her where she needed to go, rather than risk traveling by day.

The Moon had told her long ago to steer clear of the beings called the Guardians, after all. Who knew what they would do if they found her out? She had no idea what any of them were like, only that they were strange and powerful and had a great deal of influence over the children.

But if the Moon told Amaranth to avoid them, he must have had a good reason.

"Come on," she murmured. She had already hesitated perhaps a bit too long as she aimed the pebble at the dream dancing above the girl's head. Releasing the slingshot, the rock stuck inside the dream sand, which rearranged itself to form the image of a boy she had seen playing in the yard next door.

"Oh, you can do so much better than that," laughed Amaranth, letting the wind carry her down to the ground again. A few snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and Amaranth sighed and shivered; she had to keep moving or freeze. She darted through the shadows towards the boy's house. The least she could do was make the girl's feelings mutual, after all, even if she did think her choice was mediocre at best. He was kind enough, just a little… easily distracted.

Amaranth gasped as a crook curved around her throat and yanked her backwards; suddenly, she was dangling high in the sky. That wouldn't have been too distressing for her if she hadn't also been restrained by cold hands and a colder, curved stick. "What are you doing to the children's dreams?"

She didn't reply. This had to be a Guardian; she could sense his raw power.

"Who are you?" repeated the voice. "And what are you doing by Jamie's house?"

Amaranth shut her eyes tightly along with her mouth, refusing to speak. Maybe he'd assume she was mute, like the little man who made the sands flow through the sky, and if she was very lucky she'd manage to escape before he could find out that wasn't the case.

"If you don't tell me," warned the voice, "it's my duty to take you to the others."

Debating fiercely with herself, Amaranth eventually decided on saying, "Don't." Maybe that would keep him guessing, and—more importantly—prevent him from bringing her before those _others _he spoke of. They'd probably do a much more thorough job of keeping her contained.

The cold grip convulsed once and went slack after she spoke; not one to complain about fortuitous circumstances, Amaranth wrested herself from the hands and whirled around in midair, taking in the sight of a slender teenage boy with unnaturally pale skin, spiky white hair, and piercing ice-blue eyes. His grip had been strong enough that she had thought she was dealing with something far stronger in appearance. Amaranth frowned slightly as she registered the fact that he was staring at her as though she were a ghost, eyes wide; he was hardly breathing.

"Meredith?" asked the boy, barely audibly. "Is that you?"

Amaranth glanced down at herself, confused. She saw only the same girl that she had been for ages: she still wore the same crisp white shift as she had worn on her wedding night, and her wavy dark hair still fell almost to her waist, not having grown nor been cut since her resurrection. _Who's Meredith?_

She didn't have a chance to ask, because suddenly, the boy grasped her in a chilly embrace. Blinking, Amaranth patted him awkwardly on the back before pushing him away gently; he now wore an expression of mingled shock and ecstasy. "Meredith," he whispered, brushing a shaking hand through her hair.

Amaranth gave him a reluctant shove before things could escalate further. "I'm sorry?" she asked, propelling herself backwards and scowling at the boy. "I don't know what you're talking about," she continued. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but I'm… not who you seem to think I am."

"But you're Meredith," protested Jack. "My Meredith. Meredith Gardenier. You look… just like her…" He trailed off; doubt flitted across his eyes. "Don't you?" A frown creased his brow ever so slightly, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"My name is Amaranth. I'm a markswoman, of sorts. I make people fall in love. Kids too." She sighed. "And I have lots of work to do before tomorrow, _if_ you don't mind." Amaranth made a small curtsy in midair before floating down to the earth again; the sky was a little too cold for her tastes, made no warmer by his presence.

The boy sighed, following. "Don't you remember me? At all?"

Amaranth refused to reply and instead dashed to the girl's neighbor's window, the icy boy hard on her heels; he blocked her with his staff before she could open it and aim her rock. She sighed, annoyed; her work was of paramount importance, and she didn't have time for needless suspicion. "Look, whoever you are—"

"Jack Frost," interrupted the boy, sounding distinctly hurt.

"Jack Frost," repeated Amaranth. "I don't remember you. I'm just a girl who's never been seen in about two thousand years, and I wish that hadn't changed." She sighed and pushed open the window, glancing back at Jack before taking out a pebble matching the one she had tossed at the girl's dream. "If you honestly think I mean the children any harm, go ahead and do your worst. But if I'm telling the truth," she continued in a whisper, "let me go about my work in peace."

After a brief hesitation, Jack nodded. Amaranth gave him a brief smile as she aimed her slingshot at Jamie's dream, the rock quickly absorbed into the soft sand, which—as planned—rearranged itself into the shape of the girl.

"You really make people fall in love?" Jack's voice was full of wonder, and perhaps a little bit of envy, as he glanced up at her. "Just like that?" He could not meet her eyes, however. Whomever this Meredith girl was plainly meant a lot to him, or at least _had_, in whatever life he had led before this one.

Already flying away, Amaranth looked back at him and gave a mischievous grin. "Yes. And trust me, you don't want me to prove it."

**((Like her? Hate her? Give me advice!**

_**Note: Jack is drawn to her only because she resembles his girlfriend-of-sorts from his human life (explained in my fic **_**Two, and Two Together**_**), and currently, Amaranth harbors a disdain for Guardians, which includes Jack.**_**))**


	3. Chapter 2

Amaranth, perched impatiently on the counter in the back of the classroom, could not wait for the party to start.

There was always an obnoxious lesson before the valentine exchange, which Amaranth never understood. It was a special day; hadn't she also pierced some of the teachers with arrows and darts? But no, after the initial morning of crafts reserved for making valentines, they insisted on dosing out 'knowledge' before letting the children have any more fun. If only they knew that Amaranth had learned more useful things about the world by experiencing it firsthand. (Admittedly, over the course of several hundred lifetimes, but still.)

Finally, Amaranth beamed as the teacher announced, "All right, students, remember that you either don't give valentines away today, or you give valentines to everyone."

"Okay, come on, Jamie, give her the valentine," whispered Amaranth amid the bustle of kids racing over to deliver their cards. Most she remembered influencing, but there were a few unlikely candidates whom she had not affected in the least. To be fair, it wasn't as though people hadn't fallen in love before she had come along, right?

"Pippa?" asked Jamie shyly, clutching his valentine behind his back, and the girl whirled around, looking somewhat alarmed. Amaranth frowned; theoretically, she should have fallen for Jamie. _What could have gone wrong?_

"This… this is for you." He brandished his creation at her, bursting with color and glitter and pure feeling, and dashed away red-faced. Amaranth grinned; that was always her favorite part, seeing them overcome shyness. Usually, they made fools of themselves, but not Jamie.

"You can't just let him escape!" exclaimed Amaranth, pulling herself out of her thoughts. "What's going on, girl?" she continued, as Pippa smiled after him and set the card down gently—and then kept rummaging frantically through her valentines. Then it clicked: _she can't find the one for Jamie._

Amaranth quickly evaluated the situation. Pippa had made her valentine specifically for Jamie, and Amaranth had been watching everyone almost all the time. Besides, who would stoop so low as to steal a valentine?

_That would be me, _said a voice Amaranth had never heard in her life; it sounded almost as though it came from underground. _Sorry, and all that._

"But how?" asked Amaranth, frustrated. "And _why_? That was a beautiful romance! I'm going to make a new one. Valentine, I mean."

_ And risk the teacher punishing the students for stealing materials? _asked the voice, sounding bored. _You wouldn't do that._

"I'll be quick," argued Amaranth. "Anyway, here I am talking to voices. This is just ridiculous. Now what do you _want_?"

_Just conversation, _said the voice lazily. _It's been a few years down here._

"Find it somewhere _else_," hissed Amaranth, and quickly stole several pieces of construction paper, fancy scissors, glitter glue, and crayons. "I'm busy," she muttered under her breath as she slipped out the door.

_ All right, all right, fine, _growled the voice. _Now you've dragged it out of me. I happen to need your help—_

"Not listening!" snapped Amaranth, with such ferocity that the voice didn't reply. Satisfied, Amaranth got to work. _I can fix this. I can definitely fix this._

After several minutes, Amaranth had the most beautiful valentine she had ever seen, and tried to tap Pippa on the shoulder—but of course her hand went right through her. Amaranth sighed and set the valentine on a despondent Jamie's desk, smiling as he looked at it wide-eyed before blushing intensely and putting it carefully in his bag.

But then he got up to go talk to Pippa about it, and Amaranth remembered with a jolt that she hadn't told Pippa first. _Oh no._

"Hey, Pippa?" asked Jamie; Pippa jumped, even though he was in plain sight. "Thanks for… the valentine." He gave her a wide smile, which was quickly curbed by a blush.

Pippa frowned. "What—valentine?" she managed. "I lost it…" she continued, also red. _Young love, _thought Amaranth happily. "Someone else must have given you one…"

"No, it says 'from Pippa'," responded Jamie, frowning, and darted over to his desk, quickly retrieving the valentine. "You didn't make this?" he continued, sounding disappointed, before glancing at the window… where Jack Frost suddenly stood.

Amaranth glared at him as he smilingly tapped the window, frost lacing it in the shape of a heart. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed, dashing outside, as Jamie and Pippa waved to their friend. "Taking credit for my hard work?" she added. "Someone stole Pippa's valentine, so I made her a new one!"

"Someone stole it?" responded Jack, frowning. "Who would steal a _valentine_?"

"I don't know," sighed Amaranth. "Why are you even here?"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "I was just bailing you out. Better to have them believe I made it than believe someone played a cruel joke to drive them apart. See," he added, pointing to Pippa, who now held Jamie's hand (Jamie wore a shocked expression). "I was making sure your job was finished."

"Thanks," replied Amaranth grudgingly, before Jamie and Pippa sneaked out of the classroom and shut the door, staring at Jack.

"I thought you'd never come back!" exclaimed Jamie, hugging him tightly; Pippa did the same, though more hesitantly. "It's been years! I thought I'd stopped believing, or… something bad had happened," he admitted. "Who were you talking to just now?"

Amaranth turned to Jack. "Don't tell them," she pleaded. "If _you _see me for what I'm not, then… who knows what _they'll_ see? Wait till we know what's going on before you say anything about who I am."

"Oh, just the wind," laughed Jack lightly. "The wind is my friend, you know. My only companion for the centuries before _you_." He lifted both of them briefly into the air; his slender frame belied his strength. "Now, go back inside. If you stay much longer, you'll be missed. I promise I'll come visit you soon," he added, as Jamie opened his mouth.

After the two children went back to the classroom, Jack gave Amaranth a sly smirk. "So, what say we go find out why I can't see what you really look like? Actually, come to think of it," he added, frowning and prodding her shoulder, "what _do _you really look like?"

Amaranth tilted her head. "Well, what do you see?"

"Mere—"

"I know that!" interrupted Amaranth, rolling her eyes. "What does she _look_ like?"

Jack hesitated before responding. "Blonde hair, green eyes, freckles. Slender. Almost a full head shorter than me. Maybe fourteen."

"What?" burst out Amaranth. "I'm just as tall as you! I've got dark hair, and dark eyes, and I've never had freckles. Plus, I'm stuck at almost sixteen. Well, almost two thousand and sixteen." She shook her head. "I guess I thought if you believed I looked like her, she'd have to resemble me at least a little. Besides our body type," she added as an afterthought.

"So, are you up for it?" asked Jack, as though she hadn't said anything.

"Up for what?" responded Amaranth, frowning.

"Seeing the other Guardians! Asking the Man in the Moon what's up with you! Come on, he talks to _us_," he added with a devilish smirk. "Look, I'll take you to meet the Sandman. That way, you'll see there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh?" She'd hidden in the shadows a few years ago and seen the giant sand dinosaurs walking through the city; the Sandman was extremely powerful. But before she could protest, Jack had wrapped the crook of his staff around her shoulder and was already pulling her towards the sky.

"Sandy!" called Jack, smiling, as they approached a golden cloud. A plump little man who couldn't have stood more than three and a half feet high beamed and waved, then pointed with a question mark above his head to Amaranth.

"This is Amaranth," said Jack. "She's… well…" He looked to her for help.

"An archer," continued Amaranth, elbowing Jack. "I make people fall in love."

The Sandman nodded enthusiastically and a rapid series of symbols and shapes floated above his head, but Jack said, "Yeah, no offense… but I don't think she understands any of that."

Amaranth gave the Sandman an apologetic glance as he looked crestfallen. It was true, but Jack didn't have to be so blunt about it.

Meanwhile, Jack glanced northwards. "So, Sandy, we're taking her to meet the rest of the Guardians and find out why I can't see what she really looks like. You in?"

The Sandman smiled and nodded enthusiastically, morphing his cloud into what was unmistakably a magic carpet. Amaranth was busy trying to formulate the words to say she didn't want to see the others.

"Nice," said Jack appreciatively, and landed on the carpet. "Come on, Amaranth!"

"I'm good," she responded. "Really. All I want is to get back to my job. If no one sees me, I don't have to deal with the problem, right? And no one but Guardians can see me. So…" She sighed. "I really don't think I'm ready to see them." _I'm scared, _she tried to say. She didn't know what her worst fear was, but that seemed like a good enough candidate.

Almost as soon as the thought had crossed her mind, it felt like something had flipped a switch and made her lose her fear. It was a strange feeling, to be sure, and she fully intended to find out what had reached into her soul and done such a thing. _Only an extremely powerful being can do that, _she thought, alarmed. At the moment, however, she had to let them know she'd go with them.

As she was about to say she'd changed her mind, Jack nodded once to the Sandman and Amaranth was hit by a soft golden ball. Sleepiness overtook her and she staggered in midair, falling a moment later into blackness.

**((And some plot development, finally! Do give me feedback.))**


	4. Chapter 3

"I think she's coming around…"

Amaranth threw a weak punch in the direction of the voice, a glow of satisfaction filling her as she heard a yelp of surprise from Jack. Opening her eyes, she gave him a faint smile, then took in her strangely colorful surroundings. "Where exactly are we?" she mumbled, yawning.

"The Tooth Palace," grinned Jack. "Tooth will know what's going on."

"Tooth? Like, the Tooth Fairy?" asked Amaranth, confused. "What business do we have with… the Tooth Fairy?"

"She's a Guardian, of course," explained Jack. "Come on, Sandy, hurry it up a bit," he added quietly to the Sandman, who smiled and drastically sped up the sand carpet, almost causing Amaranth to tumble off. She had to cling to Jack for support, which she quickly realized the Sandman had done on purpose, and let go hurriedly as Jack smirked ever so slightly.

"What is your _problem_?" demanded Amaranth, remembering what exactly they had done to get her here. "I _was_ going to change my mind, but then you decide to hit me with a sandball and drag me along regardless of my opinion on the matter!"

"Sorry," shrugged Jack. "Should have spoken up sooner." He gave her a wink, ostensibly to say he was kidding, but Amaranth's temper flared and she honestly considered making him fall in love with the Sandman as penance.

"Why, you—" began Amaranth, but was cut off by a tiny fairy zooming towards them and emitting excited squeaks. She frowned, confused, having assumed those were some odd kind of nocturnal hummingbird each time she had seen them.

"Baby Tooth!" exclaimed Jack happily, catching her in his palm. "How you doing?"

"Who's that?" asked Amaranth, frowning, and examined her shiny, multicolored plumage. _She's beautiful…_

"This is Baby Tooth," said Jack after an awkward pause. "She works for the Tooth Fairy. Technically, she probably _is _a tooth fairy, but…" He shrugged. "I guess that title was taken."

Amaranth shook her head and refused to so much as look at Jack Frost, instead turning her attention to the shining complex ahead of them. In the center area hovered whom could only be the Tooth Fairy, a woman with as bright feathers as her diminutive assistants—but with a much more human face. As the carpet slowed down, Amaranth tried to gauge her personality from her appearance, and guessed that she was a little bit hyperactive.

"Oh, Sandy! Jack!" she called, darting over to them after a gentle landing: Amaranth had been right. "Farley?" she added, eyes shifting towards Amaranth, who instinctively backed up as she approached.

"_Farley_?" asked Jack, frowning, and looked between Amaranth and the Tooth Fairy. Amaranth shrugged in response, still backing away from her.

"Farley! It's me, Tallulah. Your wife!" She gave a bell-like giggle. "I thought I'd never see you again! I'm so sorry for everything. If you had just _believed_…" She trailed off, looking vaguely sad. "Well, no matter—you're here now!"

Amaranth knew what was going to happen a fraction of a second before it did, but could do nothing to escape in time. The Tooth Fairy lunged forward, clasping her in her arms, and kissed her passionately. Amaranth flailed, managing to shove the Tooth Fairy away after the weirdest few seconds she had ever experienced.

She glanced desperately over to her two allies for backup. The Sandman was—perhaps fortunately—dozing, but Jack's eyes were wide with shock and the rest of his face was unreadable.

"Oh my—who's _she_?" cried the Tooth Fairy, pointing at Amaranth, and somehow she knew that now, she didn't look like anybody's husband. If she was lucky, she might even look like herself.

"Quick," ordered Amaranth of the Tooth Fairy (Jack still hadn't moved or even blinked). "What do I look like now?"

The Tooth Fairy frowned, clearly wondering if this was some sort of a trick question. "You're a teenage _girl_," she choked out after a moment, blushing furiously. "You've got long black hair and dark eyes, and you're about as thin as me…"

Amaranth breathed a sigh of relief. _She sees _me_! _Beaming, she ran forward and hugged the Tooth Fairy, instantly forgiving her for everything in light of the fact that she was now truly visible to at least one being. Of _course_ she'd kiss her husband given the chance.

Jack coughed, but it didn't sound like a pointed cough—rather like something had gone down the wrong way. The Sandman jolted awake at the sound and, after a quick evaluation of the scene before him, patted Jack on the back comfortingly.

Letting go of the stunned Tooth Fairy, Amaranth pointedly ignored Jack, instead turning to the Sandman. Honestly, she was surprised it hadn't occurred to any of them to ask. "Sandy, what do you see when you look at me?"

Sandy frowned for a moment before shaping his sand carpet into a presumably life-size figure of a plump little sand-lady, and then she to Jack, who was clutching his staff with labored breaths, Amaranth smiled faintly. He was so naïve. Amaranth had been causing pairs of males and pairs of females to fall in love for as long as she'd been around; the concept was nothing new to her.

"Got a—theory?" he croaked, unable to meet her eyes.

"I take the form of someone important in your lives until you… well… kiss me," she announced by way of response. Sandy shook his head, but Amaranth couldn't interpret to which part of her hypothesis he was responding. "Maybe we _should _see the other Guardians, just to test it out." _Then I'm getting out, _she added privately. The Guardians were kind, but they were a little forceful, and very strange.

"Right, then. Let's go see North." Jack seemed to have mostly recovered, giving Amaranth and the Tooth Fairy a somewhat bashful smile. Sandy obligingly flattened his image of what he saw in Amaranth into the magic carpet again; the four of them crowded onto it and flew north.

Amaranth curled up and closed her eyes, pretending to be sleepier than she was in an effort to avoid whatever questions Jack or the Tooth Fairy might have for her. But no sooner than she had than the voice she had heard earlier echoed up to her, as though from a very great distance.

_ Fearless… _it murmured. _I can't hold them off forever. They want to latch onto you. I won't let them until you help me. So, help me quickly, and we can avoid any unpleasantness._

_Go away, _thought Amaranth in reply. _And my name is Amaranth._

_ I know. But please don't keep me here any longer._

The voice departed again, and Amaranth pretended to sleep, lost deep in thought about who or what it was that spoke to her so urgently.

**((And we descend further into the plot!))**


	5. Chapter 4

"So, Amaranth, where are you from?" Jack smiled at her, Baby Tooth perched on his shoulder and the Tooth Fairy sitting behind them. Apparently, the earlier incident with 'Farley' had been forgotten over the last couple hours.

Amaranth definitely regretted pretending to wake up; it was evidently a long way away from the Tooth Palace to wherever the Guardian called North dwelled. She had hoped to 'awaken' as soon as they got there, but no, apparently there were a couple miles left. "Rome," she responded with a sigh. "I think. I don't know where exactly, if you're going by the current borders. It _has_ been two thousand years."

"Were you married?" added the Tooth Fairy overenthusiastically; Jack made a derisive noise and glanced back at her.

"Tooth, she's _my_ age," chuckled Jack. "Younger! I don't think—"

"Yes," interrupted Amaranth, with a pointed glare at Jack, who stopped mid-laugh and stared. "Yes, I was." She gave a smile she had once been told was haughty, when she was a human. Evidently, it was considered an attractive one, since it was what had gotten her a husband.

At this rate, she would accidentally kill Jack, who wore an expression quite similar to the one that had stuck on his face when the Tooth Fairy had kissed her. Even she seemed taken aback this time, though.

"Tooth," laughed Amaranth. "Come on, _you _were married. Is it so unusual?"

She frowned. "Well, for someone as young as you—" She cut herself off, shaking her head. "It wasn't unusual way back when," she admitted. "We lose sight of what's traditional as the years go by. And I think Jack here is a little bit, well, _envious_, since he never got a relationship like that."

Jack swung his head around to glower at the fairy, then turned back to face forward again, but could not meet Amaranth's eyes; she saw that a cold blush warmed his pale cheeks, and she knew what he was thinking of. _He's so innocent._

"We've still got some things in common," she whispered; he jerked his gaze up, but still could not meet her eyes. "The Man in the Moon claimed me before my wedding night. I'm still… like you."

Jack responded, "I don't know what you're talking about," but relief tinged his voice as he spoke, and he was finally able to look her in the eye.

"Shall I explain, then?" asked Amaranth sweetly, relishing the way that blush crept up his cheeks… and especially the way his eyes widened and darted away from hers again. He'd had the misfortune to have been born into an extremely conservative era regarding romance, reflected Amaranth, whereas she had been in a society where almost anything went. No wonder he was so shy.

And yet he didn't seem like he was the prude type, having reacted with such intensity upon believing Amaranth to be Meredith. After musing on this for a few moments, it occurred to her that maybe her appearance _was _the problem: he had been forced to visualize Meredith's wedding night, in a way, and might even have haphazardly put himself in the bridegroom's position. _Oops._

Perhaps fortunately for Jack, who was staring off to the side with his eyes glazed, Sandy began his descent upon North's home and jolted him out of his thoughts.

"We're almost there!" exclaimed Tooth excitedly as the gigantic buildings came into view. "Baby Tooth, go announce our arrival," she added more softly as an afterthought, and the tiny fairy sped off. Amaranth exchanged a bright smile with Tooth; in light of her fear's mysterious disappearance, she was actually looking forward to seeing some of the other Guardians.

_I'm still waiting, _asked the voice, as though thinking of her vanished fear had summoned it. _Languishing in a dungeon for years isn't exactly fun. Do hurry._

"Shut up," she muttered in response; Jack looked at her sharply.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked, sounding wary.

Amaranth cursed herself silently for letting him hear; she'd never hear the end of it if she revealed she was hearing voices. "Myself," she replied, as coolly as possible. "I drifted too far towards a forbidden subject."

She could tell Jack was dying to ask what it was, but he restrained himself and cleared his throat slightly. Before he could say anything, a huge set of double doors opened before them and they sailed into North's dwelling to the sound of a jolly laugh.

"Welcome!" exclaimed who could only be North, striding towards the grounded carpet. "It has been awhile! And—who is this?" he asked, looking down at Amaranth with some interest. "A believer? But she is an adult!" He gave a rolling chuckle. "Hello," he added, extending a hand and helping Amaranth up. "I am Sacha. What is your name?"

"Amaranth," she responded, frowning. "Have we met?"

North beamed at her. "If we had, I would remember it!" he laughed.

_So it's not an important person from their lives, _thought Amaranth, bemused, and looked to Tooth and Jack for help explaining. Tooth nodded and flitted over to North, where she said, "Amaranth is potential Guardian material. She looks different to _everyone_. I should know. I—I thought she was my husband at first."

"Oh?" asked North, raising a thick eyebrow. "What changed your mind?"

Tooth looked to Jack for help, but he only smiled and shook his head slightly.

"Jack sees his _girlfriend_, apparently," added Tooth instead of answering, causing him to get an ugly look on his face, which Amaranth had previously assumed would be an impossible feat. However, it was quickly replaced with one of mischief, so that Tooth and North exchanged an extremely worried look.

"So, if you see someone you've never met in your life," began Jack, and Sandy nodded (with an exasperated look), "then I think we all know what comes next. Is her appearance limited to human?" He gave a pointed glance to each of his companions but, when confronted with blank stares all around, heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Let's go visit Bunny," he explained, with an evil smirk.

Amaranth smiled a little lopsidedly; this was exactly the kind of trouble she had always wanted to get into: experimentation and pushing the limit. Unfortunately for her, she had only ever gotten to influence others, and had never been able to fit herself directly into the action. This was a perfect opportunity.

But the other Guardians weren't so enthusiastic, much to her confusion. Sandy shook his head emphatically, Tooth protested that Bunny hadn't been as obnoxious lately, and North said there were more important things to worry about. As they were vetoing the suggestion, Amaranth approached an enthusiastic Jack.

"I'm in," she whispered. "What do we do to get there?"

"I could always fly you there," he murmured in reply. "It'll take awhile, though. What would be a lot easier would be if we had one of North's snow globes…"

"One of his what?" asked Amaranth quietly.

"Snow globes. He keeps them in his coat." A grin spread across Jack's face as he exchanged a mischievous look with Amaranth. "You're not going to…?"

"Of course." Amaranth smiled. In light of her new fearlessness, this could end up being a lot of fun. A part of her was scared of her unprecedentedly reckless attitude, whispering to her that this wasn't like her, but the newfound bravery shouted it down easily. _It'll be fine._

"Go on. I'll distract them." He shot upwards so quickly Amaranth could barely trace his path, then embarked on all kinds of doubtless impossible gymnastics. She crept towards North, keeping her eye on the sparkle of a globe, and seized it after a moment of caution.

"Got it!" she mouthed to Jack, who yelled 'the Warren', mystifying everyone. All heads turned to Amaranth as Jack flew back to her side, smile wide as Christmas, and shattered the sphere on the floor, opening up a tunnel directly beneath them.

**((Writer's block has set in, so I don't know if I'll be able to write another one soon, but I definitely hope so…))**


	6. Chapter 5

Amaranth had rarely had so much fun as when she was sliding down the tunnels to the 'Warren', apparently, where dwelt whom she could only assume was the Easter Bunny. Smiling, she tumbled onto a soft, mossy floor, but had scarcely a moment to relax before Jack swept her out of the way of North's girth. She would have been a little more grateful had he not smacked her spine with his staff to do so—and if he hadn't also swept her head into a rock.

She sat up, dazed, and shook her aching head before falling onto her back again. "Thanks a lot, _Jack_," she muttered, wincing. Her back was now undoubtedly frostbitten after he had tried to help.

"Oops," was his reply as he grimaced in sympathy. "Sorry about that."

Amaranth glared at him, but it proved too much effort, so she took in her surroundings instead. She sat in a grassy grove, surrounded by vine-covered stone walls; there were flowers growing everywhere. If she hadn't known better, she'd have thought she had stumbled into ancient ruins by accident… especially what with the giant eggs walking towards them with scowls that rearranged themselves into smiles as soon as they noticed who the intruders were.

At this point, Amaranth got unsteadily to her feet, but almost fell over again as she noticed that a rabbit as tall as a human bounded towards them. "Well, what's the occasion?" he asked, looking around at them all. "And—_crikey_," he added, interrupting himself and staring at Amaranth.

She glanced over to Jack, who wore a clearly defined smirk, and rolled her eyes. Meeting the Easter Bunny was fine; causing trouble was fine. But _using _her to cause trouble for someone else? Less fine. If there was any trouble to be caused, she'd cause it because she _wanted_ to rather than merely because of her presence.

She made a mental note to make Jack fall in love with someone inconvenient later.

"Hello," she said, in the meantime, and gave a smile she hoped was friendly. "My name's Amaranth. What's yours?"

"B-Bunnymund," he stammered. "E. Aster Bunnymund, at your service." He gave her a hesitant smile; Amaranth could tell that if rabbits could blush, he would certainly be blushing.

She tilted her head curiously, an act which caused Bunnymund to be entirely unable to look at her for a little while. "…What's the E. stand for?"

It was awhile before he found the ability to respond. "I… don't think it means anything," he mumbled after awhile. "I've just always been called that, that's all. What's—what's your name again?"

"Amaranth," she replied, as patiently as she could. "Are those boomerangs?" she added, frowning slightly and pointing at the weapons on his back. He looked vaguely proud of himself.

"Yes," he asserted, not the slightest tremor in his voice, but seemed at a loss for what else to say. It was then, however, that he caught sight of Jack's knowing smile, and Amaranth saw Bunnymund's expression harden. These two were most definitely not on the best of terms.

"So what's the catch?" he growled, stalking towards Jack, who raised his eyebrows with the distinctive expression of someone trying not to laugh. "There has to be a catch," he added in a whisper. "You don't just _find _someone like—like her."

"Well, as it turns out, we did," shrugged Jack. "Thought we'd come find you, since she's a giant rabbit and all." He threw a wink to Amaranth, which she slapped out of the air with her eyes and turned to Bunnymund.

"Bunnymund," she began, and he turned his head almost impossibly quickly. "I'm not… a rabbit."

He raised what might have been an eyebrow, which struck Amaranth as somewhat weird. "Have you _looked _at yourself, Sheila?" he asked, laughing. "You've got the whitest fur I've ever seen, the pinkest nose, and the reddest eyes. And the longest ears, and… the fluffiest… tail." He directed his eyes to his feet bashfully; she was reluctant to spoil it for him. Unfortunately, Jack made the mistake of giving the slit-throat sign to her to try and get her not to tell. _Oh, I'll tell. This is cruel._

"Well, I look like that to _you_," explained Amaranth. "To Jack, I look like his girlf—" She was forced to stop as Jack clapped an icy hand over her mouth, startling her into stillness.

"You had a girlfriend?" asked Bunnymund, chuckling. "You? I'd like to see the girl that could put up with _you_, mate." He shook his head. "No, hold on, I'll bet you can't see _anyone_."

"If I couldn't, could I be doing this?" snarled Jack in return, unusually defensive.

"Mmph," protested Amaranth, struggling faintly.

"Did you treat your girlfriend like _that_?" asked Bunnymund, nodding towards her predicament and causing Jack to let go of her abruptly. "If you did, she wasn't your girlfriend for long, was she now?"

Amaranth rubbed some feeling back into her mouth as Jack and Bunnymund exchanged rapidly escalating insults. Glancing confusedly at North and Tooth, who were following the argument with slack jaws, Amaranth rolled her eyes as the argument culminated with 'Oh, wait, I've got it, you do see someone—you just don't see a _girl_' and Jack took a swing at Bunnymund with his staff.

"Stop it!" shouted Amaranth, grabbing the staff and yanking her hand away as ice-cold pain shot up her arm. "Just stop it! We have more important things to worry about!"

"Like?" asked both Jack and Bunnymund, looking at her skeptically; Jack had a vaguely apologetic look in his eyes, but refused to say anything.

"Who am I?" asked Amaranth, exasperatedly, looking between the adversaries. "Why don't I have any fears?" Only after she said it did she remember she hadn't mentioned anything about that.

Jack frowned. "You don't have fears?"

"Fear is Pitch's center," murmured North, sounding concerned.

"He can't be coming back," worried Tooth, flitting around. "Can he?"

Amaranth sighed. "Who's Pitch?"

"It doesn't matter," said Jack eventually, coming forward to look her in the eye. "He's _not _returning, so we don't have to worry about it." He glanced around the rest of the Guardians. "Right?"

"We should talk to Man in Moon," sighed North after a long silence. "He will know what to do."

"No, look," began Amaranth, but was cut off by Bunnymund.

"Are you sure?" he asked, tapping his foot exasperatedly. "He never talks to us unless there's something really important happening. Is an unclear threat really reason enough for him to speak?"

"Guys! I have a job to get back to!" exclaimed Amaranth, and everyone looked at her. "It's been almost a full day since I've been out in the field, and there are people who need me."

"Very well," said North. "Bunny, if you will."

"Cheers, Sheila," beamed Bunnymund, playing with his paws awkwardly. "I'll always be there for you if you need me."

Jack muttered that he was a showoff and he needed to shut up, which fortunately flew under Bunnymund's radar.

"Thanks," said Amaranth, smiling, but the word was cut off by two taps of Bunnymund's foot and another tunnel appearing beneath her feet and carrying her back to her duties.

**((Okay, that chapter basically went nowhere. Whatever. I'll figure it out later.**

**I get that Jack vs Bunny is a bit OOC, but centuries of rivalry don't just disappear within a few years. They'd still spar once in awhile, I think.))**


End file.
